Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1887-01-21
LESSEPS' PANAMA CANAL
1T IS A GRAVEYARD FOR MEN
AND MONEY.

MIR. Alexander Smith. a resident Of the
lsthmus of Panama for the last four
years, arrived in the city yesterday. In
conversation with a reporter
he gave doleful story of the
De Lesseps canal and its prospects. He
was qualified to speak, as he had been en-
gagged in public works in the United
States and foreign countries for the last
thirty-seven years, and mad been en-
ployed on the Panama canal and railroad.
Said he: "From my knowledge OF public
works l can say that don't believe our
grandchildren will ever see NJ. de Les
that Lesseps says, that they have
spent 20,OO0,0OO up to year ago and
one-siXth OF the work is done, that will
make it $3.50, 100000 TO complete it. All
the work they have done so far is what is
called cream work or from the top,
where it 10 easier. They have taken moth
Ing from the water, aud the only work
done by the American Dredging Com
pany, one of the contractors, IS to dig
about nine miles to a depth OF twenty-one
feet. After a careful survey, | am salts
fed it will take SO0,000,0O0 to complete
the work AS regards labor they have
not more than 5000 negroes at work, and
they cannot do as much work as 200 men
can here. Sickness and death have moved
down men along the line learlully. You
in the States have no conception of the
sacrifice of life out there. Why, the COM
pany has built hospital near Panama
costing nearly $l,500,000, and it is prOba-
bic as fine as anything in Europe. With
all Its great accommodations it is con-
stantly full.
ITO give you an idea Of what obstacles
the company will have TO overcome | will
tell you Of one instance of the mistakes in
calculation they have made. AT the
Panama end OF the canal there is a swamp
ABOUT six miles In length, TIE contract lor
dredging which was AIven out to the
FrancO-American Trading Company of
New York. They sent out SIX large
dredges, three OF which were put together
and operations commenced. They had
hardly started when it WAS discovered
that this swamp was only eight feet deep,
and beneath it was the solid rock, which
will cost Sl4 cubic metre to eXcayate.
All this was not looked tor.
"Culebra cut, the hardest and deepest
along the whole line, is progressing very,
very slowly. Here they have to cut
through 400 feet, and the soil is one tan
gle OF boiling springs. What is done one
day is filled up the next, and they have no
y
waited. AT Bias ObispO and Haul Obispo
the cuttings are nearly all through solid
rock, which will have to be taken out
down to depth OF twenty-nine feet be-
low sea level. After they get down to
water level powerful steam pumps have
to be kept at work to free the excavations,
a very costly work.
The difficulties in the way of the work
have already been pretty clearly shown
h. 10. not - L. hot
canals progress. The extravaganza and
waste OF money by the canal officials are
something surprising belief. Why,
enough is wasted in material that is never
used TO build the Nicaragua Canal.
Steel rails by tons. new locomotives and
engines are left on the road
side, rusting in the heavy rains. No
body seems TO care much what becomes
of material. The officers of the company
live in elegant style, with plenty OF SER
wants. The director and subordinate
chiefs drive out every afternoon in their
double teams, imported there, and as.
sumo ali the airs OF potentates. | have
seen three and four WGtcdmon put on to
watch goods where the salary of the
watchmen were more than the value OF
the goods.
sit seems that all employed looked
upon the work as good spree, from
winch lubl can MAKE Some money. DuJ
nobody works as if he anticipated the
scheme to be completed, They bought
Ferdinand Wards steam yacht in New
York and brought her out there. She ar
rived at Panama Nov. n. This was
waste of money, for they had all sorts Of
steam craft there already. They bought
a house for the Director General for
$4,000, and shortly afterward built one
for aim at cost of $4,000. They built
another at Colon for MIN aud one for De
Lesseps, which cost 5000 600 apiece.
at is remarkable how little work the
men there can do. just after the IRE
mad portable engine on the wharf and
had to move 1t. | took a few men and
put II in the car IN short time. After
ward il was necessary for the company TO
take it OF the car, and it took sixteen
men eight days to do it.
There are difficulties the company has
to overcome that they do not seem TO ap-
preciate, They are dredging on the Pa
cific side to make channel, and send the
material miles in barges to dump. From
the position of the channel the sea fills it
up as fast as dug. 10 protect itthey will
have to build breakwater four miles out
to Naos Island. IL is ridiculous TO talk
about locks. for there is no way
to get foundation, and yet locks
will be necessary. There is
a difference IN the level OF II feet between
the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. ON the
Pacific side, when the tide is rising, the
current running into the Rio Grande river
two men in Whitehall boat cannot row
against It. This shows If the canal was
built without locks the current from the
Pacific would be tremendous. 1t will be
an everlasting lob 10 build dams. There
is another thing not thought of. The
canal crosses the deviations of the
Chagres river about twenty times. This
will compel really the building OF two
lateral canals alongside the main one,
and even with this there will be danger to
the main one, as the Chagres river rises
in night sometimes - feet. and II will
be hard TO build dams TO hold it,
"Ihe great enemies of the work are the
soil, climate, and poor labor. The ia.
maica labor they have there is good only
to draw wages. and the crowd that went
down from New Orleans is all dead. eN.
cept u few who are now bra kemen. They
have the worst labor on earth now, and
what it taxes one day to do here il takes
a month there.
"rhe contract is gwen out in four sec
tons. The American Dredging Company
has about sixteen miles: another com.
pany, TO san Pueblo, seven miles: an
other. 10 Bias Obispo, seven miles:
another, to CuleOra, seven miles. and
about mile in the big cut al Cuiebra
and Lettelier, Lilas n Co., France, nine
and half miles to the Pacific.
pnuninaipu Nnn ra, A.